The Stagecoach Bride Read online

  Wild Hearts: Book 1

  The

  Stagecoach

  Bride

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  and

  Stephannie Beman

  The Stagecoach Bride - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruis Publishing at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2013 by Ruth Ann Nordin and Stephannie Beman

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover Design by Stephannie Beman, http://stephanniebeman. com/portfolio

  Cover Photo images by Frenta, Anna Yakimova, and Phototimestudio of Dreamstime. www. dreamstime. com. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Interior Photo image Dreamstime. www. dreamstime. com All right reserved – used with permission.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Other Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Other Books by Stephannie Beman

  Coming Soon in the Wild Hearts Series

  Chapter One

  June 1868

  South of Laramie, Wyoming

  Lillian Christian examined the desolate territory as the stagecoach bumped along the trail. She had left everything she knew behind. Risked everything. Hoped for the best. Feared the worst. Would being a mail-order bride to a man she barely knew bloom into love, or would she be doomed to a loveless marriage?

  She dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her throbbing temples, willing the persistent pounding away. The trip to Cheyenne had been lengthy and she thought the stagecoach would be a refreshing change from being stuck in a small seat in an overly hot and crowded train car. She was wrong.

  The final stretch of her journey should have gone faster than the rest of it. She had come all the way from Virginia, after all, and she was only a few hours from Laramie. But the stagecoach ride seemed even longer. The constant swaying from side to side and the thick dust that slipped past the heavy curtain to choke her, only made it unbearably stuffy inside the coach.

  “Oh, those mountains are absolutely breathtaking,” the woman beside her gasped in awe. “Don’t you think they’re absolutely breathtaking?”

  Lillian pressed the handkerchief closer to her mouth and nose before focusing on the scenery. The mountain range loomed in the distance, lush and green, and far bigger than she was used to. She had to admit the sight was impressive and they seemed to disappear into the sky. “They are lovely.”

  The woman dropped the curtain back into place, blocking the worst of the dust and plunging them back into gloomy darkness. She turned toward Lillian. “Where are you going?”

  “Medicine Bow. And you?”

  “The same place.” With an excited smile, the pretty young blonde held out her hand. “I’m Maggie Jefferson.”

  “Lillian Christian,” she said, reaching for the woman’s hand. The stagecoach jerked to the side, throwing her into Maggie. She righted herself. “I’m sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

  Lillian bent to pick up the drawstring purse that had fallen off her lap. The stagecoach dipped and a couple of her hatpins fell to the floor, causing her hat to fall off her head. Quickly grabbing her things, she straightened and adjusted her hat, slipping the pins back where they belonged. It would probably remain on her head for another hour before the pins were shaken loose once more.

  “That’s a remarkable shade of red,” Maggie said.

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “Pardon?”

  “Your hair. I’ve never seen such a deep shade of red. In fact, I don’t remember seeing anyone with red hair.”

  “It’s not a common color.” And that was why Lillian hated it and attempted to hide it as much as possible under her hats or bonnets.

  The curse of red hair was that certain colors didn’t look good on her, leaving her with a very limited selection of clothing. Mostly she kept to muted shades of blue, green, and brown because her brother refused to pay for the more garnished shades of lavender and teal.

  With an uncertain smile, she smoothed her new green travel dress and asked, “What are you going to Medicine Bow for?”

  “My parents passed a while ago, so I’m going to help my uncle and his kin at their ranch.”

  Lillian inspected the faded floral pattern on the blonde’s dress. “Where did you come from?” she asked to fill the silence.

  “Minnesota. I took care of cattle out there, so I have some experience.”

  “Are you looking forward to living here?”

  “I think so. It’s certainly breathtaking. ” She touched her arm and nodded toward the mountains. “Did I mention how breathtaking those are?”

  Lillian smiled, amused by her enthusiasm. She wished she could share it, but starting a new life wasn’t going to be easy. Not that she had anything worth going back to, but that didn’t matter. “Yes.”

  “So, what are you going to Medicine Bow for?”

  “I came to marry Charles,” she struggled to remember his last name, “Gray.”

  Right. It was Gray; like the color of storm clouds.

  She didn’t know why she came up with that analogy, but it was the first thing she thought when she answered his ad in the paper. There were many ads for mail-order brides, but her heart went out to him. A widower with a three-year-old son who needed a mother. How could she not come out for a struggling rancher with a young son?

  “So you’re a mail-order bride?” Maggie asked, her eyes wide. “How brave. I couldn’t marry a man I’d never met.”

  “Bravery has—”

  The sharp crack rang through the air, startling them both. Men shouted. The stagecoach picked up speed, veering dangerously. Another crack rang out and Maggie shrieked, grabbing hold of Lillian.

  Belatedly, she realized the cracks were gunshot echoes, not pieces of the coach breaking off. Another gunshot rang through the air and the two women shrieked again, ducking from the windows.

  “What’s going on?” Maggie asked, fear in her voice.

  “I-I don’t know.” She didn’t dare look up through the window to see.
Wasn’t that how men died in the dime novels? “Do Indians live around here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Lillian dragged Maggie down to the safety of the floor. At least she hoped it was safer than the bench. The coach bounced and careened wildly. Gunshots rang out around them.

  The two huddled on the floor, jerking forward as the coach came to an abrupt halt. Silence reigned for several moments, as if the world stood still. Lillian held her breath, hoping the nightmare would be over. Maybe they would be robbed and the men would leave.

  And then the world began again. Horses neighed and gunshots were exchanged.

  Lillian squeezed her eyes tightly shut and prayed that nothing would happen to them. Holding a shaking Maggie, who was mumbling incoherently about robbers and dying, Lillian hoped they’d somehow survive this attack.

  “Throw your guns aside and no one will get hurt!”

  Lillian stiffened at the gruff voice coming from behind the stagecoach. Goodness! Did he mean her and Maggie?

  Rising to her knees, she tentatively peeked out the window. She could only see one man with a shotgun on horseback a ways off, too far to be the man who’d spoken. How many were there?

  Another man moved into sight, a bandana over his nose and mouth, his hat low on his head, leaving only his eyes showing. It was impossible to even tell what they looked like, but they had their guns pointed at the driver and the gunman who was supposed to protect them in this untamed wilderness.

  The man turned toward the window, and she wondered if his eyes could pierce the darkness. She ducked back inside. Maybe if the men didn’t know they were here, they would take what they wanted and leave.

  “Throw your guns aside!” the attacker repeated, impatience in his tone.

  “Can’t do that, son,” the gunman sitting next to their driver said. “We have nothing of value.”

  “You have something we want,” a second man—the one by the window—yelled.

  Lillian gulped. What did he mean by that? She and Maggie were just two helpless women. She shivered and held onto Maggie who was huddled on the floor of the stagecoach. She closed her eyes, willing the driver and gunman to give the men whatever they wanted so they’d go away.

  “It ain’t worth it, Jim,” the driver told the gunman. “Let them take what they want and go.”

  “What’d ya want?” their gunman demanded.

  After a tense moment of silence, the first attacker barked, “First, put down your guns!”

  Lillian held her breath, not sure if it was better if they obeyed or not. Two heavy thuds on the dirt told her they chose to obey.

  She squeezed Maggie. Now the attackers would come to get whatever they wanted. She just hoped they would take their things and let them continue safely on their journey.

  But she didn’t hear the sound of someone hopping on top of the stagecoach to grab the trunks. Instead, the door flung open. She let out a startled cry. Her eyes flew open and she found herself staring at a revolver.

  A huge man stood before them, the wind blowing his duster. He scanned the interior of the stagecoach. Beside her, Maggie cried and buried her face in her shoulder.

  He slipped the revolver into the holster at his hip. “No one will hurt you, ladies.”

  Surprised by the tenderness in his tone, her gaze went from his gun to his startling blue eyes, the only feature she could see on his face, thanks to the red bandana covering the rest of him. They looked so kind and sincere, yet she wouldn’t trust him any more than she could trust the others.

  “I need you to come out of the coach now,” he continued, his voice soothing.

  Though she sensed a struggle in his stormy blue eyes, as if he wasn’t happy to be doing this, she gave a slight shake of her head and tightened her hold on Maggie.

  “Everything will be alright,” he urged, extending his hand forward.

  “Hurry up!” the second man, still on his horse, called out. “We got to get out of here.”

  The first man glared at him. “They’re scared enough without you adding to it. We have time before Charles Gray comes looking for his missing bride.”

  Charles Gray? His missing bride? Lillian’s lower lip trembled. They wanted her? But why? She only knew Charles from the letters they’d exchanged, and she had no enemies this far out West.

  The man on the horse huffed and moved his horse closer to the coach. “Which one do you think it is?”

  The man glared at his fellow robber. “Be careful. You’re scaring them.”

  “With his face, he’d scare the toughest woman,” another man joked.

  The second man rolled his eyes. “This is taking too long.” He urged the horse toward the back of the coach where Lillian heard him pull at the ties holding the luggage. “Help me with this.”

  Now what were they doing? She wanted to ask the first man why the second one was going through the luggage when they said they came for Charles Gray’s bride—her. Oh God, what did they want to do to her? And why?

  The first man sighed and reached for Lillian and Maggie. “Come on.”

  Lillian shook her head, moving them further into the coach and out of his reach. He sighed and made a move to step into the coach.

  “Promise you won’t hurt us and we’ll do it.”

  He nodded, stepping back. “I promise. No one will hurt either of you.”

  “Just-just give us a moment. Please.”

  Lillian glanced at Maggie and swallowed the lump in her throat. Still holding to each other, the two women emerged from the stagecoach. Lillian’s knees felt unbelievably weak, and had she not been leaning on Maggie, she would have collapsed to the ground.

  She glanced at the driver and gunman who remained as still as a stone while one of the men pointed a gun at them. She couldn’t blame either of them. She counted five outlaws surrounding the coach. It was very bad odds. They were as helpless as she and Maggie were.

  “Hurry up!” another one of their attackers hissed as he scanned their surroundings for any sign of trouble.

  A loud thud, followed by another, drew her attention to the luggage. Two of the bandits were pulling trunks and bags from the stagecoach. She wanted to protest, to plead with them to stop because that was all she and Maggie had, but her throat constricted. She could hardly breathe, let alone talk.

  The first man stepped over to her and studied her for a long moment before he reached out to brush a lock of red hair that had fallen from her bun. “Nice color. Distinct.”

  She jerked away from him, nearly knocking poor Maggie over. “You have no right to touch me!”

  The others stopped looking through the baggage and glanced in her direction.

  He grinned. “Spirited too. How did a girl like you get mixed up with a man like Charles Gray? He’d crush you without a thought otherwise.”

  “My dealings with Charles Gray are none of your business.” Really! Who did he think he was?

  “That’s where you are wrong, cikala wiwayaka. Charles Gray is our business and as his intended, you are too.”

  Her gaze swept over the other four bandits then back to him. “I don’t know any of you.”

  The second man grunted and dropped the packages he was sorting through. He stormed over to her and pried her away from Maggie. “Now stop it! We have work to do.”

  When he tried to force her hands behind her back, panic took over. She kicked at his shin and he loosened his hold on her hands. Jerking free she struck out, whacking him across his head. The solid crack startled her, though it hardly seemed to slow him.

  He reached for her hands again. She fought against his superior strength, her arms flailing, her nails raking over his leather coat instead of his face. Her hand connected with the brim of his hat, knocking it off and revealing dark brown hair pressed down with sweat. Encouraged, she grasped a fistful of hair and pulled as hard as she could.

  Letting out a loud roar, he shoved her away. She stumbled and collided into a solid chest. Strong arms closed around her, and d
espite her struggles he didn’t budge. His grip around her only tightened until she couldn’t move. Opening her mouth, she screamed at the top of her lungs, her sole remaining defense.

  The second man swore and stomped over to her, hands clenched at his sides, his breathing heavy. “You’re not worth the trouble. We ought to leave you here to rot!” He motioned to his head where he was missing some hair.

  Surprised, she glanced at her closed fist and saw the big lump of hair in it. Cringing, she shook the hair free of her hand.

  “That’s what you get for being rough with her,” the first man growled behind her. “She’s scared and she didn’t need you bullying her. Tie her up so we can get this over with.”

  The second man glared at her and picked the rope up from the ground. Grabbing her hands, he wrapped it around her wrists.

  She winced at the force he used.

  “Brother, if you keep it up, I’ll tan your hide,” the man behind her growled. His tone filled with warning and promise.

  She didn’t doubt that he would do just as he threatened. Apparently the second man knew it too. He glanced up, glaring at the man behind her, but his actions grew gentle. He muttered something under his breath about obstinate women, dishonest men, and brothers who thought they were in charge.

  Lillian glanced at Maggie who was being held by one of the younger bandits. No one tied her hands together. No one mentioned wanting her. No. They wanted Charles Gray’s intended. They were after her.

  “What are you going to do with me?” Lillian asked, directing her attention to the man holding her. At least he seemed nicer than the one knotting the ties around her wrists.

  He didn’t answer her. Instead, he led her to a horse that was nipping at the scraggly grass at its feet. She dug her heels into the ground hoping to slow their progress, maybe even stop it. But he was far stronger and her boots weren’t suitable for the outdoors, causing her to stumble.

  She might have fallen, but his hold on her didn’t slacken and his pace slowed until she managed to regain her balance before he had to embrace her again. She really didn’t want anyone but her intended to hold her in such a familiar way, even if there was nothing romantic about it.